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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Homemade Cheez-Its

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to crackers. It’s my go-to junk food. It’s what I reach for instead of popcorn when watching a movie at home (in the theatre, too. Shhh! Don’t tell). My all-time favourite crackers are the tiny, orange, squares of cheddar-y goodness. They are like crack...ers. You know the ones I mean! I can easily inhale a whole box in one sitting. Afterwards, of course, there is the guilt that sets in. How many unpronounceable chemicals did I just consume? Is there an alternative where I know exactly what I am scarfing down? You know me — I didn’t stop looking until I found it. And I did. These little gems of cheesiness are so flavourful and packed with flavour that you’ll never go back to the garbage-in-a-box. While they are not as crunchy as commercial crackers, they make up for it in freshness, wholesome ingredients and yup — they are as addictive as the original.

Mine! All mine!

For best results, use the sharpest, aged cheddar you can find. It doesn’t need to be orange. Kraft makes an Extra Old that’s not bad and Balderson’s makes a few varieties of aged cheddar that are very, very tasty. I haven’t tried making them with the McLaren’s cheese spread (the one in the red tub) but I bet it would be pretty good. These crackers do not keep well — you will need to consume them the same day they are made. You can see from the photos that the crackers puff up quite a bit, so roll your dough out as thin as you can — 1/8” or less.

Cheese crackers, without all the crappy chemicals.

I hope you like these little crackers as much as I did. Now, it’s time for YOUR confession! Leave me a comment and let me know what’s your favourite cracker or salty snack.

4 comments:

I was really hopeful about these crackers after recent success with making wheat thins, but I turned out to be disappointed :-( They tasted great the first day, but after 12 hours, they got all soft and soggy. Popping them back in the oven made them a little crunchier, but not much. I am bummed because they did taste quite good! Guess I'll stick to the wheat thins!